The field of invention relates generally to a stroller and particularly to a child's stroller with an easy folding frame that quickly receives or releases conventional child car seats and which can be converted into a toddler stroller.
Although child's strollers that receive or convert into child's car seats are well known in the prior art, there are still many problems inherent with the existing designs. Some inventions, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,064 issued to Hunter, describe a child's car seat that converts from a car seat into a stroller. The frame assembly and the wheel assembly in this type of design are attached to the car seat, which acts to increase the total weight of the apparatus even when the wheel assembly is not in use. A further disadvantage inherent in this type of design is that any dirt or mud acquired while using the device as a stroller is subsequently deposited in the car when the device is converted and used as a child's car seat.
The prior art also includes child's strollers in which the seat may be removed and used as a child's car seat. However, these inventions, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,795 issued to Mar, utilize car seats that must have specialized designs to enable their use on both a stroller and in an automobile. Also, inventions utilizing this type of technology, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,261 issued to Sadler, Jr., are difficult to convert from child's stroller to the child's car seat, making the conversion impractical in inclement weather.
Another drawback of existing strollers that receive or convert into child's car seats are their limited useful life as the child becomes a toddler. In existing child's strollers, when a child becomes a toddler, a new stroller must be used to transport the toddler.
The present invention allows the use of existing, commercially available child's car seats, thus reducing the overall cost, especially for families that have already purchased a child's car seat. The present invention is also designed for quick and easy removal of the child's car seat and a simple one-hand conversion of the stroller from an operative state to a storage state.
The present invention also allows the stroller in the child's car seat carrier mode to be converted into a toddler stroller by removing the cross bars and attaching a seat assembly. Once converted, the seat assembly can be utilized in an upright seat position or in a reclining position.